The week and summer's end. And grace.

Today was my last day of work at Hall Constructon Inc. This is the end of the fourth and last summer I will be working there. For a while I actually thought I was going to do that with my life but then again there is a list of decisions like that which include - moving to Africa, staying and going to NOVA, joining the peace corp, going Arizona/West VA/Oklahoma for college, working full time for HCI, going to a musical engineering school, having Sight Unseen (my high school band) hit it big, and most recently moving to Seattle. All that (though most likely not ALL that) could still happen.

Turns out I have decided on Richmond. Twice.

I have always thought of years in terms of schooling. Hence the whole "New Years" party never really took hold of me. I tried throwing one once or twice, but you have to go to school in a few days...so is that really a new year? I give it a nay. Because of this way of thought, my year comes to a close at the end of the summer.

Here are some things I have learned this summer -

Construction is not something I want to do for the rest of my life.

Neither is plumbing.

Being in debt is no way to live. Though there is an obvious and huge blessing here - being in debt means you spent some type of money - money that you either did or did not have. In my case this money was on a year of schooling. For a certain number of green pieces of paper you can learn things like having two roomates forces you to being driven to living on a futon, bad food makes you sick, the gospel is the power of salvation to all who believe (first to the Jew and then to the Gentile), if you are a jerk to people the first week of school it literally takes an entire year to make it up, tattoos flourish in urban areas, carrying a red plastic cup around automatically makes you drunk, freshmen dorms love pulling fire alarms...multiple times in one night....before work, working as a "ticket cop" makes people give you the dirtiest of looks, God and Piccolas provide, a homecooked meal is a thing not easily forgotten or found again, clothes dont need to be washed as many times as one might think, the weekend starts on thursday, there is a range of homeless people in terms of thier reactions to you and your reactions to them, Tolkien wrote some great books, good friends take smoke breaks a lot, and freedom is something provided by grace and carried out by that same grace. (Grace would be a great name for a baby.)

Dry heat is ok.

Greyhound is always, always, always late. Unless of course you get there on time, and then it is early.

Stepping on nails with knock off Pumas hurts.

Dave Ryan is in fact the greatest driver of all time.

Some people change colors, others do not.

Staying in touch is not that easy.

Avoiding people isnt that easy either.

My mom spoils me.

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This weeks lesson.

Thank God for parking lots.

I have come to find that things in life which we are quick to make one thing are often another. As a Christian I tend to over spiritualize things. Hence I get up in the morning - am sick to my stomach and figure "Oh the Lord must be telling me something." He is. "Drew, this is God. Eat. That is all."

Likewise I have a tendency to write one thing off because it ultimately "isnt that important" (doing the dishes, laundry, talking to my family) whereas I blow other things entirely out of reality. All this to say that work is stressful. I understand that people work lots of crazy hours, but I put in 92 hours in the last two weeks, and that isnt including driving time most days. There is a different type of tired that comes from being in the sun all day.

Ok so all that stands, yes it is me complaining, I know, but it is a needed backdrop.

My point in all of this is trying to understand tonight, and the lesson I learned. And NOT write it off to anything other than what it was.

When someone says to you, "Oh and here is something you will like," tilts there head back, laughs, smiles, and is taking you out to dinner to celebrate your last day of work. NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY (be it that they killed your dog, punched your mom, ate the leftovers, or something that sort of bothers you but only in a "This is NOT a big deal at all, but some explanation would be great" kind of way) DO NOT BE AN ASS AND SAY THIS, " Hmmm Im not really sure how I feel about that."

If you do, or have, join the club. Praise God for learning and grace and fights and grace, and ....grace...

And parking lots.

Where people can talk outside the fishbowl. Where people can step back and ask for forgiveness, and be given it in turn.

There is something about leaning up against the side of a care that makes work, heat, debt, visiting/living at home, leaving the country for 2 weeks, just get set down. You get to say, "watch this," and take your hands and open them as this invisible feeling that "something isnt right because YOU DREW COWLES ARE AN IDIOT," fall off the plate of things you carry and shatter in between those white lines that are far to small to park a Suburban in.

I am close to convinced that there is nothing worse than sweeping things underneath the rug. It is much better to take them, talk about them, and then drop them in a parking lot somewhere. Take the perfect idea of yourself, hold its hand, lure it with a piece of candy and say " Perfect Drew, lets go to the back yard." Then blow its brains out all over the place. Your neighbors will see you and hopefully do the same.

So yea, I am off to the living room to sleep because my Grandpa is in town and in my room.

Again, praise God for grace and parking lots.

d